Kompas  
Thursday, 17 April 1997

		Gus Dur: Every Indonesian Citizen 
	      Must Live Up to His Responsibilities

Jakarta, Kompas Online
Every citizen must behave responsibly, regardless of his ethnicity,
religion, culture or his mother tongue. We must strive hard for this
principle, especially because it is so hard to achieve. Undoubtedly, the
greatest obstacle is religion, because each of us finds it hard to accept
people's beliefs which are not ours.

"The inherent problem between religions," says Nahdatul Ulama (NU) leader
Abdurrahman Wahid, "is that people believe that their religion is superior
to other peoples' faith. Therefore, how can we accept such conflicting
claims?" This rhetorical question was asked during a seminar entitled
"Religious Freedom and the Concept of Nationhood" that was organised by the
Nur Kebajikan Yayasan Jakarta on Wednesday (16/4). The seminar included
several distinguished panelists such as Dr. Nurcholish Madjid, chairman of
Paramadina Yayasan and Dr. Th. Sumartana, Director of Dian/Interfidei in
Yogyakarta.

According to Nurcolish, also known under the nickname Cak Nur, the claim of
religious superiority must be eradicated from peoples' minds otherwise they
will remain intolerant. For Moslems, this means seeking guidance from the
main source - the Al Quran and the Hadiths.

"We must find the strength to transcend such socio-cultural intolerance. We
must never allow ourselves to believe that there are such obligations as
being religiously intolerant, for there is nothing in the scriptures that
says we should be so," said Cak Nur.

Abdurrahman Wahid, or Gus Dur, quoting from the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, said that everyone has a right to religious conversion.
"However, according to Islamic thought, in fiqh, religious conversion is
acceptable as long as it is from another religion to Islam. On the other
hand, any Moslem who contemplates converting to another religion is
indulging in a crime which according to fiqh is punishable by death.

Hence, "the problem" says Gus Dur, "is how to make the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights compatible with Islamic doctrine. In order to achieve this,
we must look at the situation around us within the Indonesian nation and see
how we can reconcile it with dogma. Ultimately, this means that we must
search deep in what our religious learning has to say in order to find the
answer.

Determine the Boundaries

In Gus Dur's view, this series of discussions will determine the boundaries
of action for developing genuine religious freedom while preserving the
interests of the Indonesian nation. "The problem is that there are many
things going on this country which must be set right. For instance, the
followers of the Bah'ai faith are still forbidden until today to practice
their faith. This is due to a bureaucratic mistake that dates back to 1962,
when the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) obtained a Presidential Decree
that forbade 12 organisations on grounds that they were imperialist
ideologies. Since then, 11 organisations have been rehabilitated, yet the
Bah'ai faith remains forbidden. This is unacceptable, and we must take a
stand in favour of the rights of Bah'ai followers in Indonesia."

Gus Dur also mentioned a similar case involving followers of Confucianism in
Surabaya. Apparently, their wedding was nullified because an employee of the
Department for Religious Affairs ruled that Islamic scriptures consider
Confucianism to be a mystical belief, not a religion. Even the Minister For
Religious Affairs declared that Confucianism is a philosophy, not a
religion. In fact, there is an Islamic religious book written 1000 years ago
which describes Confucianism as a milah. Milah means religion in Turkish and
Persian, whereas in Arabic it can mean sect or religion. Hence, how could
there be a decision that Confucianism is not a religion? "Because we could
not bring this matter to be discussed in court, when I left I told the
bureaucrat, 'look, you are the one who is deviating from the teachings of
the Quran by saying that Confucianism is not a religion.'"

According to Sumartana, from whatever angle you look at the issue,
Confucianism is a religion. "As a theology, there is no doubt that it is
different from Islam, Christianity, Hinduism or Buddhism. However, that is
no excuse to look down on Confucianism for it deserves the same respect as
other religions in this republic of ours." The issue, said Sumartana, "is
the hidden hand of the state. It is best that the government does not get
involved in determining the religion of its citizens. Religion is a domain
that should remain autonomous."

All the panelists agreed that it is important to prevent 'theological
hegemony', or religious domination from being enforced by the state. On the
contrary, religious beliefs must be exposed to debate and transparency. For
Sumartana, the Indonesian nation needs a concept of nationhood that allows
plenty of space for its citizens to freely practice their religion. This
must be a basic step for those believers who wish to play a role in
developing the nation. Each must respect the fundamental rights of the other
if we are to exist as one people.(*)